Beauty is startling, but also somehow hauntingly familiar. An instantaneous recognition that’s not entirely analytical resonates through the mind and body. Suddenly, the smoothness of a thigh, a falling snowflake, an empty nest, the taste of a summer peach, the poignant lines of a poem all capture the attention almost like a spell and cause one’s awareness to be concentrated into an expansive experience: a moment of unanticipated growth or turbulence or transformation. The effect can be as transitory as a wistful sensation or as profound as a life-changing juxtaposition of words. Beauty offers delight, but with a warning: that which is most entrancing is also the most fleeting.

Bill Wolak has just published his fifteenth book of poetry entitled The Nakedness Defense with Ekstasis Press. His collages have appeared recently in Naked in New Hope 2016 and The 2017 Seattle Erotic Art Festival. Mr. Wolak teaches Creative Writing at William Paterson University in New Jersey.